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T O P I C R E V I E W

Moonbase Alphan

Expedition 20 will be the 20th long duration mission on-board the International Space Station (ISS) and the first to include six crew members.

Expedition 20 begins with the Soyuz TMA-14 docking and the arrival of three new crew members in May 2009.

Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, International Space Station commander, and NASA astronaut Michael R. Barratt will launch in March 2009 on Soyuz TMA-14 and return in October 2009 on the same vehicle.

NASA astronaut Tim Kopra will launch on STS-127 and return on STS-128.

Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne will launch in May 2009 on Soyuz TMA-15 and return in November 2009 on the same vehicle.

Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk will launch in May 2009 on Soyuz TMA-15 and return on Soyuz TMA-15.

NASA astronaut Nicole Stott will launch on STS-128 and return in November 2009 on STS-129.

Padalka will be the first commander of two consecutive ISS expeditions (Expedition 19 and 20).

GoesTo11

Now THAT is sharp! I'll definitely be buying a couple extras of this one.

KAPTEC

"The Return of the Two Versions Patch"... (which one will be the "official"?) In spite of, I like them too.

Robert Pearlman

According to Sandy Magnus, beginning with Expedition 18, all ISS patches have had/will have two versions: one with names and one without names.

The crews will wear the version without their names during their stay on the ISS and then the name version will be (officially) released after their expedition ends.

KAPTEC

This time I like more the unnamed one.

KSCartist

A great looking patch. The only thing I would have done differently is used the Cyrillic alphabet for Padalka's and Romanenko's names.

The Expedition 20 patch symbolizes a new era in space exploration with the first six-person crew living and working onboard ISS and represents the significance of the ISS to the exploration goals of NASA and its international partners.

The six gold stars signify the men and women of the crew. The astronaut symbol extends from the base of the patch to the star at the top to represent the international team, both on the ground and on orbit, that are working together to further our knowledge of living and working in space. The space station in the foreground represents where we are now and the important role it is playing towards meeting our exploration goals.

The knowledge and expertise developed from these advancements will enable us to once again leave low earth orbit for the new challenges of establishing a permanent presence on the moon and then on to Mars. The blue, gray and red arcs represent our exploration goals as symbols of Earth, the moon and Mars.

robsouth

I do like this patch. Very futuristic in design. I also agree with the post above about preferring the nameless patch, probably a first for me because I usually like the names to be on there. I also like the red, grey and blue idea for Mars, the moon and the earth.

dogcrew5369

The Expedition 20 crew patch is now available. Put in my order today. One of the best Expedition patches to date; simple and elegant.

hoorenz

Bill Hunt

Does anyone know if AB is going to sell the named versions after the flight?

Robert Pearlman

It appears as though the Soyuz TMA-15 crew did not wear the Expedition 20 patch on their Sokols for launch, but rather had on the Expedition 21 insignia.

hoorenz

There is room for only a few patches... and Frank De Winne's wife designed Exp. 21, so the choice was obvious...

KSCartist

Robert, maybe you can find out why. Florida Today used the Expedition 21 insignia for their story about the ISS having a full crew of six people in Monday's edition.

Has there been some change that we're not aware of? I feel bad for Nicole Stott not seeing her patch launch to station.

NavySpaceFan

Just saw news coverage of today's docking, and I noticed Bob Thirsk was wearing the Exp. 20 patch on the upper right sleeve of his flight suit.

Voyager1975

Yes, all three of them Robert Thirsk, Frank De Winne and Roman Romanenko were wearing the Expedition 20 patch on the right sleeve of their blue flight jackets when they arrived at the ISS. Robert Thirsk was the only one wearing both the Expedition 20 patch as well as the Expedition 21 patch on his jacket. (You could see the Expedition 21 patch on the left side of the chest on Thirsk's jacket in today's footage).